Name: Journey Through India: Kolkata | CNBC International
Uploaded: 2018-11-12T08:32:32.000Z
Duration: 10 min 32 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

No, onions will come later when you're more professional.

Adverbs of degree

I'm traveling through one of the most colorful and vibrant countries in the world, and with

the help of local knowledge, I'll be trying to find out what makes this place so special.

Kolkata, still commonly referred to as Calcutta, is the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal.

While it's now known for its gentle pace of life, back in the eighteenth century the

city was British India's most important trading post and the showpiece of their colonial power.

Home to prominent intellectuals, Kolkata is regarded as the artistic and cultural capital of India.

Kolkata used to be the capital of India at the beginning of the twentieth century,

Victoria Memorial was built around that time and really illustrates that colonial period.

As well as its history, this city is famous for its food.

Bengali cuisine has evolved over time, but Kolkata still remains the ideal place to experience it.

On this journey I've been really keen to try some home-cooked Indian food,

and what better place to do that than in West Bengal?

Fortunately enough, a lady who has lived in this city, has agreed to let me in her home and even cook for me.

Hello Tom. Welcome, welcome. Come in please.

Iti Misra is a retired British Airways executive, but has built a second career as a chef.

As well as appearing on a number of Indian cooking shows, she hosts lunches in her home

so that visitors to the city can experience a taste of Bengali cuisine and get a glimpse into local life.

You need an apron? I'm sorry. I don't have an apron.

You don't have an apron for me, and you've got 'queen of the kitchen' on yours?

Then I'm the queen of the kitchen, aren't I?

I should probably be jester of the kitchen.

Okay this is roasted mung beans, which we call daal.

It's normally eaten as a first course with rice.

You know most of the spices we use are really not for taste.

And then we will put in a little bit of the chopped tomatoes.

Bowl of daal, maybe a couple of chapatis or a bowl of rice.

So how long have you been in Kolkata for?

I have lived in Kolkata all my life, I'm a Kolkata girl.

I went to school here, college, married, brought up my children.

Everything in this city, I love this city.

Now we will do a fish dish which will be steamed.

Is this quite a traditional dish to Kolkata?

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to marinade the fish with some mustard paste.

And then I'm going to ask you to wrap these in the banana leaves.

Now we fold it, this way. And then here and then here.

You're a professional. You'll have me out of a job now.

Next dish we're going to do is eggplant, in yogurt.

Kolkata, how has it changed over your lifetime?

We're still very colonial in our outlook. Kolkata used to be the heart of India.

People came to Kolkata to seek their fortune, but it's considered the backwater now by

a lot of large multinational companies. But still we have a lot of people who come here

for the music, for the art, for the performing arts.

They're sort of dark blue, purple and yellow. Beautiful, aren't they?

These are freshwater, and we keep the head because that's where all the taste is.

Now we're just going to leave it a little to simmer, and by that time when it's cooked,

we will add coconut milk. Maybe put a couple of red chilis for drama.

Otherwise, how will you know that you're eating Indian food?

There was a doubting Thomas in the scriptures, and there is a Thomas the faint hearted here.

I'm going to place it in the order in which it is to be eaten.

And this, the heart of the banana. Have you ever eaten it before?

It's so good. Right, let's try some of the fish.

That is delicious, and the mustard is really, really good.

I also just ate a bit of chili on the fish.

I know, I wanted to try it and see how brave I was.

I don't think I'll get anything like this back home, that's for sure.

So what do you do in the evenings in Kolkata?

I have a lot of fun. I have friends. We go out dining or we meet at our club.

Would you like to join me for a drink in the evening?

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Journey Through India: Kolkata | CNBC International

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